A Dark Horse
by NotASpider
Summary: The realm of magic is destroyed. Two dimensions are cleaved. And the struggle for Mewni has truly begun. While the former queens fight over control of their kingdom, Star and Marco will have to wage their own battles for the stability of their home, especially after a new threat rises from within.
1. Prologue - So Heckin Done

_"I feel like it's in the DNA of the universe to solve one problem but create another."_ -Daron Nefcy

* * *

"Aaaaah." Hekapoo let out a satisfied breath as she flopped back onto the couch. Her fiery drink raised to her lips, gulping the rest of it down in one fell swoop. Best pomegranate juice in the multiverse. Made great cocktails. Who, she pondered, was the brilliant mind that started serving drinks in coconuts? Just a touch of fire to the alcohol and she could enjoy a toasted snack after her drink.

Her legs crossed as she slumped into her seat. "Hey bartender!" she shouted across the tavern, pointing at her empty coconut. "Keep these coming, don't stop 'til I disappear." She took a crunchy bite out of the rim, then haphazardly tossed it onto the candlelit table in front of her. Finally, the last stage of her relaxation, crossing her hands behind her head. Her bright orange eyes briefly scanned the room.

Pool table was empty. Maybe if she was still here in five minutes she'd claim that cue and play a game. Plenty of other patrons, too. There was a definite mixture of relieved and indifferent expressions on everyone's faces after the queens had left. Good. They were really killing the atmosphere of this place. No Glossaryck to be seen, either. Not surprising.

Hekapoo shimmied her shoulders into the cushions and let her gaze rise to the ceiling. So, this was it. The end of H-poo. Plenty of worse ways to go, and in worse places. Alone, fully chilled out, listening to smooth parlor jazz with a gently murmuring crowd…

"Your beverage, miss." And a good drink. She said nothing, just slid a hand out for the waiter to place it in her open palm. Lazily her arm craned over, depositing the straw in her mouth to get in a few sips. Damn that juice was good.

Another relieved sigh left her lungs as she lowered the cup. She began to feel it right when her elbow hit the arm of the couch. Not the drink, it took way more than one to get her going. There was a slight tingling feeling spreading over her. Like the millions of tiny hands all scrawling evaporating letters onto her skin, carrying away flakes of her body as the ink dried.

Those queens sure worked fast. Although in all honesty, it was probably Marco who was doing all the heavy lifting. That kid could really fight. Not seeing him use the wand would probably end up being her only regret in life. Well, maybe a few others, but at least she made up for those. That said, she couldn't help but wonder what kinds of spells he'd be slinging out of that thing. Something like, super sparkle abs blast. No, that sounded dumb. Whatever. Not like he'd be using them again anyways.

She set her drink down to examine herself. Her fingers fanned out in front of her face, turning every which way so she could paint as clear a picture as possible. Yep, she was definitely disappearing. Her skin and hair were already starting to dissolve into bright red embers that easily dispersed into the air.

It occurred to her that she'd never see the world without magic. That was fine. All she really needed to go out happy was this one last sip of pomegranate. Well that sip quickly turned into a chug, and soon there was another discarded coconut rolling around on the table.

"Shall I close your tab, miss?" The waiter had taken notice of the ever thickening cloud of magic sparks floating around her. It was getting harder and harder to see through.

"Put it on the Butterfly account. They owe me." She gave him a pair of finger guns and clicked her tongue. The last thing she'd ever do. Finally her eyes closed, a content smile on her face.

The bright light of her dissolving body was enough to filter through her eyelids for a short while. She could actually feel it all slowly shimmering away, taking her worldly sensations along too. It never really occurred to her just how much she _felt_ until her body was taken from her.

Her legs and their slight relief at being propped up, gone. Her dress hugging her figure, slightly rubbing on her skin with each small movement, gone. Even her interlocked fingers propping her head up, pressed against her hair and throbbing with each delicate heartbeat, gone.

Maybe her mind would be next. She never really contemplated how much she thought, either, just that she was a being who could. As Hekapoo's awareness turned deeper and deeper inward towards her soul, she realized that was all she had left. There was nothing else. Just darkness. An all consuming darkness that ran so deep it seemed to reach all the way into her fading mind, hazing the fringes of her consciousness. Her thoughts really would be the last to go.

Not completely, not yet. For now she was still left with a number of her emotions. Wasn't exactly what she expected from the afterlife, not that she was complaining. All of her worries were so incredibly far away now, as far away as possible. If she really had been erased from the universe, why bother with it? She knew it was still there, somewhere, but she had no reason to spare it a thought. Now it was just her and nothing. So much blissful nothing. Maybe an eternity of this wouldn't be so bad. It was already so incredibly, perfectly relaxing.

At least until it wasn't. That cold, safe grip of darkness all came crashing down in an instant like a hammer to an egg. _Her_ egg. Her wonderful isolated bubble outside of the universe, her safe shell protecting her thoughts from the world.

Hekapoo's eyes shot open. It was still dark, but nothing like the rapturous void she travelled through to get here. Wherever here was. She had no way of knowing.

Somehow she had gotten her body back. She could feel it - she could feel everything down to the tips of her toes. It felt so _weird_. Alien, almost. Like she was never meant to have a physical form and now had been forced back into one that didn't quite fit. How did she manage to live inside one of these for so long? Everything took such an enormous effort, and there was so much of it to do. She couldn't remember how to move, whereas before she just… did. Almost as if she had forgotten how to be human.

The first thing she noticed was her heartbeat. Thankfully it knew what to do all by itself. Her first breath was hoarse and ended in a horrible cough as she choked on her own need to breathe again. Okay, lungs working. Sort of. She tried rolling onto her side only to find that her arms weren't quite working yet.

Focus, Hekapoo. She knew her limbs were there, she just had to find them. And she did. A single twitch of her fingers reset her instincts and all at once she suddenly remembered how her muscles worked. By then she had the whole breathing thing mostly down as well, so, bonus.

"Hekapoo?"

That voice. That damned voice. It lit up every part of her reconnected brain and kickstarted her new body with adrenaline. Hekapoo jolted upright on the cold hard floor, turning her head. And there he was. Floating nonchalantly over a boiling cauldron located smack in the center of an enormous expanse of nothing.

"Glossaryck?" Hekapoo stood the rest of the way up. She was barely aware that her voice had risen to a shout. "Are you _**kidding me**__!?_"

"Well that's no way to greet your father." He grabbed a wooden spoon that was leaning against the kettle. "Hungry?"

She rubbed her eyes with her palms, helping in clamping her eyes shut. Maybe if she tried hard enough she could go back. If she could just-

"You're not hungry." Her hands tightened into fists. And then she screamed. She ran forward, heels clinking on the floor. A foot came up, and she kicked the hell out of that damn cauldron.

_Clang!_

"Ffffffff-" Hekapoo fell back to a sitting position, clutching her foot. It didn't even budge. And there he was, looming over her, staring like she was a crazy person. She stared daggers right back at him.

Could she kill him? Was it possible? Had anyone even tried before? It would be so easy, just wrap her hands around that little neck and-

"Hekapoo, we're going to be here a while. It'll feel like much longer if you keep that up." Glossaryck dipped the spoon into the broth and began stirring.

Wait, _duh. _She was on the High Commission, creator of the scissors, enforcer of dimensional travel. Getting out of here would be a snap. Literally. "No, I don't think I'll be staying. But you- you do whatever."

Did her scissor blades make the journey with her? Yes, yes they did. She pulled them out, one in each hand, and twirled them around her fingers. "Later." From her spot on the ground Hekapoo held both close together and stabbed the empty air.

Nothing.

She could feel her expression change. One more time, and again, nothing. Maybe she left the portals closed. She let one of the blades hang off her thumb so that she could deliver a resounding _snap_. No luck. No rush of flame from her fingertips, no nothing.

"Hekapoo, magic is gone."

"No it isn't!" She was yelling again. "If magic was gone, I'd be dead. And I _was_ dead. So why am I here?"

Glossaryck looked over at her as he lifted the spoon. "Maybe the universe isn't done with us."

Hekapoo loudly groaned, flopping over onto her back. Her limbs splayed out for a moment, dropping her blades before her hands rose to cover her face again. "I hate you so much." He didn't respond. "Is that why you helped Toffee? Some grand master plan you concocted for the good of the universe? Or was it some kind of ridiculous training for Star?"

He slurped up a bit of stew from the spoon, smacking his lips. Sure took his sweet time doing it, too. "Star, hm? Let me tell you about Star. She appeared in the exact same spot you did after getting trapped in the realm of magic. Then she marched right over here and dipped her bare hands in this very cauldron." The spoon swished through the air to be pointed accusingly at her. "And she _still_ didn't complain as much as you."

Her hands lowered, face twisted in anger and disgust. "So you almost killed Star," she said flatly. It wasn't a question. "Was that part of your plan?"

"No, of course not. Star said the whispering spell and came here of her own volition." He dipped the spoon back in. He really reached into the pot, dredging all the way down at the bottom. "I very specifically didn't want Star to die. Who do you think saved the last drop of magic and put it into the soup for her?" Back out the spoon came, Glossaryck holding it over the simmering broth.

Hekapoo's eyes went wide. She had never gotten up so fast in her life, stumbling towards the fire and staring at the spoon. Liquid and chunks slowly fell away from it, revealing Glossaryck's find hidden underneath.

It was a unicorn horn. A few inches of one anyways. It was broken off at both ends, and stained a dark inky purple.


	2. A Moment of Respite

The ground lightly swayed beneath Eclipsa's feet. Trees shook all around her, accompanied by the splintering of wood and distant shifting of boulders. It seemed like the earth itself was being torn apart with the horrifying sound echoing from every corner of her surroundings.

She looked up, casting glances towards the others to see if they felt it too. Everyone did. But before anyone could question what had happened, a light made every head turn. It was enormous. The distant, incandescent bubble of energy quickly expanded above the mountains and trees, showing no signs of stopping. Within seconds it had swallowed up most of the sky in its bright red glow.

Moon was the first to react. She stood up, removing her face from River's cupped hands. "Star?"

Eclipsa's arm tightened around Meteora, her empty hand flexing. A wave of panic washed over her. "My- my wand!" She furiously patted herself down. "Where is my-" Two massive red arms interrupted her train of thought. They wrapped around her and Meteora, shielding them both from the worst of the impending shockwave.

The cascade of dust and pebbles turned out to be the least of their worries; it was the sound. A horrible, eruptive sound that seemed to shatter the air around them. The blast seemed to pull the wind straight out of her lungs as it passed, leaving her breaths heavy as the debris rained down around them.

Her ears were ringing. Slowly, the sound was replaced by Meteora crying. "Are you okay?" A gentle voice came from above her.

Eclipsa took a few more deep breaths with her hand idly stroking her daughter's hair. Finally she released a sigh, letting her shoulders slump and allowing herself to relax into that wonderful embrace. "Yes, dear. Thank you." Her hand raised to awkwardly brush a curl of hair from her face. "Old habits and all that, hm?" She laughed breathlessly.

While comforting Meteora, she looked over at Moon. The former queen apparently had a similar problem, now standing with both hands outstretched after a failed attempt at creating a barrier. Regardless, she stood unscathed, her dress gently swaying in the sudden gust.

Moon's tone shifted to match her now determined expression. "Star." She took off in a sprint, vanishing into the trees.

* * *

"Hey."

"Hi."

The two stared at each other, and for the briefest, blissful moment, they were both immune to the plight of the world crumbling around them. But no matter how much they tried to ignore it, chaos surrounded them. Sirens, monsters, panicked screaming, all eventually became enough to overwhelm the shields of happiness in their minds. That still didn't mean they had to let it spoil their reunion.

Star was the first to move. She went in low, leaning into the half step forward to bridge the gap between them. Her face buried itself into Marco's chest where his heartbeat reached her even through his hoodie. Fast, like hers. Their arms went around each other. Marco looked down, watching her head lightly bob with his breathing.

Eventually she muttered a few muffled words into him. "What'd you say?" He let up his grip so it wasn't quite smothering her.

Star groaned as she turned her head into the fresh air. "Easy peasy time freezy." This time it came with a snap of her fingers. Her words were dripping with resignation; neither of them expected it to work.

Marco had the same idea. "It can't last forever, Star."

"I _knoooow,_" she whined, then followed in her familiar intense whisper. "But we can try." She grabbed two fistfulls of hoodie for leverage to squeeze him harder. He didn't dare complain about getting halfway asphyxiated, opting to return the favor instead.

"Star!" Moon's far away voice was almost lost among the commotion. Neither of them heard it, or chose not to. "Star!" The call repeated seconds later. Louder, closer.

"Don't you dare let go, Marco," Star said quickly. Somehow she managed to get an even tighter grip on him, whispering. "Foreverrr."

He didn't. But when Moon got close enough for her footsteps to be heard, he made the mistake of looking up. She was running at them near full speed, fast enough to make him worry about getting bowled over. His worries were well placed. With one final, slightly relieved cry of "Star!" Moon seemed to glide the final few feet towards them. The rest of her momentum was halted with an outstretched arm shoving Marco out of the way.

"Wha- hey!" Marco exclaimed as he was knocked back. It wasn't really enough to hurt, but it was enough to tear them apart. Moon's arms quickly replaced Marco's and wrapped around her daughter.

"Star, can't you avoid scaring me to death for five minutes?"

"Mom, I'm fine," Star groaned, pushing her away.

"I'm fine too, thanks." Marco popped back into view, dusting himself off.

"Yeah!" Star shimmied her way next to Marco and intertwined their fingers together. She then lifted his hand as if to show off. "We're fine, mom. Everything and everyone will be _fine._ Magic is gone, so we got nothin' to worry about." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes and moving her free hand to her forehead as she let it out. "And now I really wanna shut my brain off and go spend time with Marco."

Marco grinned. But before he could say anything, the others showed up. River was the first to slide to a stop nearby. "Did I just miss a rousing speech from my own daughter?!"

Moon pinched the bridge of her nose. "River, no. I mean, yes, but-"

"Honestly Moon, are you still coddling the poor dears?" Eclipsa's voice rang out from high above them, only audible between the increasingly heavy footsteps. She was sitting on Globgor's arm not unlike the pose in her tapestry, with Meteora being similarly held by her. "Thank you Globby." She stretched upwards and kissed his cheek. As she did he began reducing in size, with Eclipsa effortlessly stepping to the ground halfway through the transformation. "I think they'll be fine."

"No, I was not 'coddling' anyone. I was worried." Moon looked around. There was a lot to take in. "But, I suppose you are right. Once everything settles in we'll all be right as rain."

_'Space unicorn! Soaring through the sky~' _Star giggled. She exchanged the hand hold for a full on hug from the side, squishing her cheek against Marco's. "Still cute."

"It's supposed- you know what, forget it." His arm found its way around Star's waist as he fished for his phone. The ongoing ringtone was barely loud enough to drown out Eclipsa's distant 'awwww'.

Marco tapped the screen and held it to his ear. "Hello?"

"You feel that quake, Diaz?" Janna. How'd she get his number? Actually, he probably didn't want to know.

He glanced over at Star, his hand idly rubbing her side. "Yeeeah, we kinda might have been the ones who caused it."

There was a pause. "I am so proud of you right now."

"Wait, what?"

Star suddenly took hold of his wrist to move the phone between them. "Hi Janna!"

"And you got Star back? Awesome, so you two can bust me out of the hospital. CHLA room 513, don't take too long."

The call ended as abruptly as it started. Marco sighed as he put his phone away, basically resigning himself to the task right off the bat. Star on the other hand wasn't quite as convinced. "Why's Janna in the hospital?" She was way more confused than worried.

"Oh. She uh, stopped her heart to distract the paramedics so that I could run for the portal."

"Awww, that's so sweet!"

Marco smiled. "Yeah, yeah I guess it was." He looked behind Star, slightly adjusting his grip on her to check his watch. "If we leave right now we can probably be back in time for dinner."

"Wait, you're leaving already?" Moon chimed in, startling the young couple as they had already forgotten others were around. "So soon?"

Star half rolled her eyes. "Mom, it's _fine_. We can't get into any zany magical adventures without any magic. We're just picking up Janna! It'll be fine."

They stared at each other, Star still hanging off of Marco's shoulder, until Moon's expression slowly changed. "Alright. Just be safe."

"Thanks mom!" Star shifted her weight to stand a bit more upright. "Lead the way, Mr. Diaz."

"This way." They began walking off towards the city. "Hey, I was thinking. Since I was the last person to hold the wand, does that technically make me queen?"

"No, Marco… no." That was the last Moon heard before they went out of earshot. Even so, she stood still to stare out at their ever shrinking figures on the horizon. More specifically at how close they held each other while walking.

She was so distracted that she didn't even hear Eclipsa sneak up beside her. "So? Do you think you want to be called 'grandma Moon' or 'granny Moon'?"

* * *

Marco looked around as they walked down the street. At least, that's what he thought it was. Whatever forces brought the two worlds together had torn deep, ragged fissures into the ground and filled them with Mewni's lush grasses and trees. Somehow all the buildings remained untouched. Not only undamaged, but remaining perfectly in place on the new terrain. Both the Earth and Mewni structures had the same story. The one exception seemed to be Butterfly castle, which had its tall spires appear on several of the skyscrapers downtown.

The hospital was only a half hour's walk away. Even so, Marco still opted to take the back streets. Out here on the small roads there was so much less noise to deal with. Especially today. At least a dozen news helicopters were already over Mewni, plus who knows how many countless other people stuck in LA traffic and clogging up all the main streets. Back here it was perfect. Peaceful, almost.

"Hey Star, do you think Earth went to Mewni or Mewni came to Earth?" Marco rubbed her side to get her attention. It almost felt like she was going to fall asleep on him while they were walking, what with her head almost fully resting on his shoulder and her arm lazily draped around his torso. When she turned to face him, the look he got instead was one of the most relaxed and contented expressions he'd ever seen. "You okay?"

"Yeahyeahyeahyeahyeah, I'm cool." She suddenly stopped walking. And standing. Star flopped over, almost looking like she fainted in his arms so she could more easily see the sky. "Hmmm." Marco followed her gaze up. Not a shred of sky was left uncovered by stars despite it being mid afternoon. The sun had gone behind the ringed moon, allowing the light to gently refract down onto the city through its icy halo.

"Mewni sky." She squinted. "And those sure look like some Mewni-ey moons." Her head rolled back to scan the ground. Marco lifted her up a couple inches to keep her hair off the street. "But this sure looks like an Earth city." Suddenly she looked up at him again. "Does it really matter?"

Marco smiled. "No, guess not." His voice trailed off as he found himself staring at her. The light of the auroras reflected perfectly off her brilliant blue eyes, making a beautiful sparkle that was impossible to look away from. Every last shimmer and twinkle could be seen, only interrupted by her periodic blinking and twitches as she stared right back at him.

"Marco, you're doing that thing." Her words broke him out of the trance.

"Wh-uhhh what thing?"

"You know, that thing. The thing where your eyes get all big, and you get all quiet, and you just stand there 'cause you don't know what to say," she rambled off. Finally she turned her head away, eyes shifting between him and the ground. She also wrapped a lock of her hair around a finger and twiddled it around. "The thing that's super cute."

"O-oh yeah, that. I, um-" He hesitated. "Got distracted by the beautiful stars."

A huge smile broke out on her face. "Alright, c'mere." She threw her arms around his neck, letting them bring her up as she hoisted herself towards him. Her eyes closed as their faces got closer. Marco did the same, running a hand through her hair to guide their lips the rest of the way together.

_'Space unicorn! Soaring through the sky~'_

Star froze. She was just far enough away for him to see the smirk on her face as he opened his eyes. Her mouth opened, but Marco beat her to it. "Don't say it." He briefly looked in the direction of his phone pocket. "Can you uh?"

_'Delivering the rainbows all around the world~'_

Her arms tightened around him, resting her head against his chest. "Nope. Too comfy."

Marco sighed, wiggling his arm free to get to his phone. Answering this time revealed his mom's frantic voice. "Marco! Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Oh, hey mom. I'm totally fine. Star's here too, we were going to the hospital to see Janna."

There was a long sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. We're all fine too, just headed home now. Do you want us to pick you up?"

He looked down at Star, who was back to her near comatose state of relaxation. "No, we'll be fine. It'd be a pain to drive down here anyways. But we'll be back as soon as we can."

"Okay, but stay safe. Love you."

"Love you too. And uh, by the way, don't freak out if any scary looking monsters come by. They aren't going to eat you or anything." He hung up before she could ask any questions. Then, just to be sure, muted his phone. "Sorry. Where were we?" The moment was dead, but it was worth a shot.

"Marco, it's fine. Our parents love us." Star finally stood up on her own again. It took a bit of effort, and they eventually wound up face to face. She kept her arms around him to make sure nothing else would be interrupting them. The moment wouldn't die if she had anything to say about it. "Now kiss me."

He didn't waste any time before embracing her again, not even taking the time to put his phone away. Neither of them wanted to squander the opportunity this time. They pulled each other in close, eyes drifting shut again, until…

Both of them jumped as Marco's phone went off right in their ears. Not a cute song about unicorns, either, instead a horrible grinding screech that demanded their attention. "I silenced you, why are you doing this to me!?" He moved his arms away from Star in order to furiously tap and swipe at the screen, trying to get it to stop. "I mean really!" For some reason the notification wouldn't dismiss. "I- eh, uhm."

His eyes suddenly shrank to pinpricks when he actually read the message. "Marco?" Star looked at him quizzically. After reading it over three times, Marco turned his phone towards her right as it emitted a long harsh tone. She squinted as she read it. "An evacuation? For what?"

"Keep reading." His shellshocked expression didn't change.

"Everyone within five miles of Echo- ohhhhh." Star nervously crossed her arms. "Ohhh no. Oh nonononono." One of her hands came up and she started biting her knuckle.

Marco pulled his phone back, reading the rest aloud. "Do not interfere with military operations." And with that, the noise finally stopped. He slowly looked up from the screen. "We're not actually going to leave, are we?"

"Of course not." Star began pacing around the street, head tilted down in thought. By then she had turned the skin on her finger red with her anxious gnawing. "I mean, I don't know!" She threw her arms in the air, now staring right at him. "We're on Earth, Marco, this is an Earth thing, what'll they do to Mewni?"

"I don't know either! I've never seen this happen before! I mean, just like in movies and TV, but those are never realistic! I'm not a princess here, Star, I'm only a teenager." At some point Marco had begun pacing too. But unlike Star's sweeping path back and forth across the street, he kept his movements restricted to a tight circle.

"Marco, focus." She stopped both of them by putting her hands on his shoulders so that they were face to face. "Okay, even if we don't know what's going to happen, we have to do _something._" Silence. They stared for a while, each expecting the other to say something. "Well you had the wand last, that means you're acting queen. What do we do?"

"_What?!"_ He recoiled a few steps away from her. "You said it didn't work like that!"

"It doesn't. Just pretend, okay? You're queen now, Queen Turdina the, eh, the Karate. And you have to make a decision."

Marco made a face at his new title, even if it was made up, but knew it wasn't the time. "Okay, okay. Umm," he muttered. He looked down at the ground, mind racing. Memories of every single monster movie, video game, and tv show flooded through his head at once. Only this time he was remembering them with a new perspective. The answer actually came to him surprisingly quickly. "Give up."

"Marco!"

"No, really! Earth isn't like Mewni where some big evil wacko is always trying to kill everyone." Some of the frantic edge had left his voice. "If we don't fight, they won't either. I hope."

Star rubbed her eyes. "Marco, that's-" She cut herself off. Her arm reached behind her back to her purse, pulling out her mirror after a bit of rummaging.

"What, no good?" he asked.

"No, Marco. I made you a pretend queen, and you made a pretend decision, now I have to pretend to accept it, even if it turns out to be a bad one." She flipped the mirror open and thumbed the buttons.

"Uhhh..."

"Nevermind," she said dismissively, tilting her head up to him. "The point is you're my knight, and my advisor, and my boyfriend, and I trust you. Even if I think it's a horrible idea." Her arms waved into a shrug, mirror still in one hand. "I mean, every bad person I've ever known wouldn't suddenly chill out if you stopped trying to fight them. But, yeah, I trust you."

Marco's lips curved into a smile. "Thanks, Star. I think." He looked off in the distance towards Mewni. "But aren't your mom or Eclipsa still in charge? Maybe we should tell them."

"Duh, who do you think I'm calling?" Star looked back down into her hands, and all of two seconds later tossed the mirror over her shoulder into the gutter. "Except I can't. Apparently mirrors need magic to work."

"Oh yeah, right." He rubbed the back of his head. When he looked back up Star had begun to walk towards him, then firmly grabbed his wrist and marched with him back the way they came. The relaxed and unwound girl he'd walked here with was completely gone.

Marco's smile vanished. He knew he couldn't ask her to stop being a princess for a little while, but sometimes it was really tempting to try. It was under an hour ago they were in the realm of magic. Now here they were again, back into the fire with more problems to deal with. Truly no rest for the weary.

"Wait, wait. Star, hold on." Marco turned his arm around to take her wrist instead, only his grip was much gentler.

"No, Marco." She didn't even look back at him, and certainly didn't stop. "We have to get back to Mew...ni." Her voice sank as they reached the end of the quiet side street.

There was nothing quiet about the roads now. From here they could see the completely packed highway, of course at a complete standstill. Apparently a lot of people didn't even need to be told to evacuate and went immediately after seeing the scariest monsters on TV.

That was leaving the city. Going in, which also happened to be what Star saw, was a massive stretch of frighteningly heavy vehicles. Each one had two rows of four enormous tires, holding up a compact cab with flatly angled sides. Sitting atop each were at least a dozen soldiers all twitchy and ready for action. The only sections of roof that weren't occupied were in places where enormous guns had been bolted to the top of the armor.

Star didn't have to be from Earth to know what it meant. By this point she'd seen many of the movies Marco had, all the same monster and alien shows he swore by. The exact ones Marco thought of when pondering the question of what would happen to Mewni. Well, here was her answer.

Marco's grip got tighter. He pulled her backwards into the shadows of the street, which thankfully she let happen. After a quick look around he put a hand on her shoulder. "Star?" Her hair flowed loosely behind her as she turned.

Star's eyes were pointed at the ground, mouth open as if stuck in the middle of a word. From far away they could faintly hear the rumbling engines echoing between the buildings, fading in and out one after the other. Star got to listen to every single one of them with excruciating clarity.

To them, it seemed like there were a hundred driving by. Each one caused a bit of a twinge in both their minds. "Marco," she muttered, finally getting a chance to think once the convoy had passed. "I messed up, didn't I?" She lifted her head to look at him with tears welled in her eyes.

Marco stepped towards her. "No, you didn't," his gentle answer came almost immediately. And while not quite as instantaneous, he weaved his way in to give her a hug. Even with his reassurance he could still feel a few sobs shake through her.

Somehow, it felt like it was physically hurting him to not be able to do anything. Hugging wasn't enough. "Star, did I ever tell you what it was like to have my soul sucked out by Meteora?"

Star didn't say anything, but shook her head.

"It was horrible. Without my body I couldn't hear or see anything, it was must me and my thoughts. The only thing I felt was when another soul brushed against mine. And for all I knew, one of those souls could have been you." His grip tightened a bit. Reliving his time being an aimless spirit wasn't something he wanted to do, in more ways than one. He even avoided telling her in fear of making her worry for no reason. But with magic gone, it was as good a time as any.

She had no idea. Her mind raced, thinking of all the soulless bodies Meteora had left in her wake. Not only them, also the high commission after fighting Toffee. Marco tried pulling away, but Star wouldn't let him. She didn't want to let him see her in this state.

Marco paused, waiting to see if Star would say something. She didn't, but at least she seemed to calm down a bit. Good thing, too, since feeling her shoulders slump down also helped to relax him. "Why do you think I was so quick to hop on board the 'end magic' train?"

He smiled as Star pulled away. She was still misty eyed, but not quite breaking down like before. "Because you looove me?" she asked hopefully, wiping her face.

"Well, yeah, that too." His hands slid down to her lower back. It took a monumental effort to stop staring into her eyes, still glittering like jewels. They both knew it wasn't the time for stargazing.

When Marco managed to look away, he went for his phone again. "Okay. I know it's not usually your thing, but we actually need a plan this time." Star nodded. "I'll just let Janna know that- oh come on!"

"What what what?" Once again Star grabbed his arm and turned it so she could see, already expecting the worst. This time she only saw three missed calls from his parents.

"Give me that." Marco pulled his arm free. He tapped once before holding the phone to his ear. "It's my parents. Not everything is world ending, Star." Although he had to admit, sometimes it sure felt like it was.

She suddenly put her hands on his shoulders, much to his surprise. "Marco, you adorable brilliant boy."

He froze. "Uhh…"

"Where are your parents?" She inched closer, looking at him eagerly.

It took him a second to connect the dots. "Oh, right!" He moved next to Star and put an arm around her shoulders, an embrace which she easily settled into. "Pretty sure you're the brilliant one here."

The reply came from his phone. "Aw, thank you Marco!" His mom again. "You two still doing good?"

"Mom! We're fine, where are you?"

"At home with your father and Mariposa. We kind of guessed what happened, so we decided to stay put. Had to set up the generator though." She paused, during which he could faintly hear the TV in the background. "You should probably come home, too."

Marco glanced at Star before continuing. "Yeah, it's probably too late for that. But- hold on, how did you guess what happened?"

"Marco, Star lived with us for over a year. This is basically normal for us." He heard his dad laugh from nearby on the other side, as well as Star giggling next to him. "And I mean this with love, honey, but you wouldn't stop talking about Mewni for an _entire summer. _We were even there once. It was easy to recognize on the news."

Marco rolled his eyes. "Okay, fair enough. But listen, we need a huge favor. Like a monumental world saving favor."

"What is it?" His mom's voice tightened up.

"There's a pretty good chance we won't be able to make it back home for a while. Star and I really need to talk with the queens of Mewni, though. So could you uh, go down to the monster temple and call when you get there?" Star looked up at Marco, and he looked back. They knew it was a lot to ask.

"Oh, sure!" Both of them let out a breath. Even though they knew his parents would agree, it was still a relief to hear it. "It's been a really long time since we talked with Star's parents. You two can check into a hotel or something if you can't get home, everything will be fine in a few days."

"Thanks, mom. It's the big mountain with the alligator looking skull on it." His relief was palpable even through the phone. Beside him he knew Star was feeling the same way.

"No problem, sweetie, talk to you soon."

The quiet beep once again signified the end of the call. He sighed, slumping back against one of the street lights. "Your parents are so cool," Star muttered, not having moved a single inch away from him.

"Yeah, they are." Marco haphazardly shoved his phone in his pocket again to get another hug as fast as possible. Star had the same idea, her body flowing in his arms before finding her own grip and pinning him to the lamp post. "Do you really think this will be over in a few days?"

"No," she admitted sadly. Now it was so much harder to give in and let themselves get lost in each other's arms. Hugs were nice, but only went so far. It left both of them wanting more. "But it doesn't matter." She lifted her head to face him, barely aware that she was drifting closer.

Marco finished her thought for her. "Because we'll be together."

No hesitation this time. Star crossed her arms around his neck, even knowing he couldn't retreat with his back against the pole. Marco took over as she went up on her tiptoes to reach him. He leaned forward, heart beating faster as his hands raised to her face. His sudden control combined with the feeling of his fingers brushing the back of her neck pulled a gasp out of Star. The breath seemed to act as an invitation, drawing Marco closer until his lips met her open mouth.

Star could feel a warm glow of fireworks going off in her belly. Each one lit up her mind and body with sizzling comets of emotion, emotions she swore she could taste on his tongue as well. Every small movement his lips made seemed to set off another one, sending lightning through her head every single time. Her hands clambered at his hoodie. No one spot seemed to be good enough for her to hold onto.

Their kiss had an opposite effect on Marco. His mind went completely blank, an experience during which he could much more easily understand her earlier state. Kissing her had brought him to a level of tranquility he didn't know was possible. It was as if the mere act of their lips touching had sent him right down into the center of the universe with her in his arms.

When she pulled away, it felt like his soul had crashed back down into his body all over again. Marco was very suddenly and painfully aware of everything. His thumping heart, heavy breaths, and the sweat. So much sweat. He stared at her, wide eyed, hoping she wouldn't notice.

Star giggled. A light and fluttery giggle that made his heart melt and formed a throbbing ache deep in his stomach. It was right where he got stabbed. There was definitely some truth to 'too much of a good thing,' but he still wanted more. More kisses than she could give and more hugs than were possible.

She stared at him, he was doing that thing again. Her hand brushed her bangs from her eyes, and Marco swore he could even see her cheeks begin to glow again as her smile got bigger and bigger. No, that wasn't her cheeks. What finally pulled their eyes from each other was the sun, which had just begun to peek out from behind the largest of Earth's new moons to wash away all the stars in the sky.

"Coool." Star was the first one to break the silence. Moments later she stood up straight. She loved him, but there was only so much sweat she could handle in a day. She settled for holding his hand. "So, Janna?"

Marco's fingers tightened around hers. "Yeah, Janna."


	3. Back at the Helm

"So? Do you think you want to be called 'grandma Moon' or 'granny Moon'?" Eclipsa couldn't stop smiling. In a way she knew what Moon was going through, but could more easily relate to Star. To be young and in love was such a wonderful thing.

Moon turned to face her, eyes narrow. Eclipsa knew her massive grin wasn't making things better, but she couldn't help it. Honestly, who better for Star than Marco? Sure, he wasn't a prince, but Moon had to have seen the writing on the wall.

"Eclipsa-" The word was tense.

"I think I'm more of a grandpappy. What do you think, dear?"

"Not now, River," Moon snapped back at him. Her eyes didn't move from Eclipsa. "You. We have a lot to talk about."

"Oh? What did I do this time?" Meteora piped up from her arms, reaching into the air. Eclipsa looked down and held out a hand, still smiling as Meteora played with her fingers and wrapped that adorable tail around her wrist.

"What? No, I'm talking about Mewni." Eclipsa heard what she said, but didn't bother to listen. Straight out the other ear. Moon tried again after a few seconds of silence. "The monsters? Earth? The throne?"

Only one word made it through, 'throne,' but it was enough to rip her attention back. "Oh, right. Of course." She looked up from Meteora, getting a good look at Moon's tense face and furrowed brows. "I think I'll be taking the throne back, thank you."

"You will do no such thing. Did you forget our agreement already?"

"Yes, well," Eclipsa began. Her eyes drifted towards River, then to Globgor. At least she knew she could count on one other person for support. Meteora finally let her hand go, allowing her to thumb her wedding ring. The simple golden band gave her enough confidence to speak up again. "I mean this in the nicest way possible, Moon, but all your leverage just up and vanished. I'm taking back the throne." She had to focus to keep the waver out of her voice. Her hand tightened into a fist around her thumb, still spinning the ring around her finger.

"_Completely _out of the question, Eclipsa."

"Wait a minute. Don't we get a say in this?" River interrupted.

Globgor put a hand on Eclipsa's shoulder. Feeling his touch let her release a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Can we talk about this, boo?" Her heart fluttered.

No time to fully relax yet. Eclipsa nodded and spun on her heels to face away from Moon to get as much privacy as they could. Globby followed her movements, stooping a bit lower and huddling together as not to be heard. He continued in a low voice, "Are you planning to use me as a weapon?"

Eclipsa patted his forearm. "Of course not, my love," she said, matching his volume. "Please trust me. I'll explain everything later, but Moon was the one who made those warriors."

"_What?_" He spun his head backwards. Eclipsa stayed put, but took the chance to open her ears. River was talking about going back to the yurt people. When Globgor turned around again, he was tense. "Just say the word and-" He cut himself off to gently place his hands over Meteora's ears. "-and I'll rip her arms off."

Flashbacks of his old nickname came flooding back, and of all those people throwing it in her face to hurt her. Part of her hoped that this was another one of his infamous jokes. Wishful thinking, she knew. "No, no need for that. I don't know what we'll do, but we can _not_ allow her to be queen."

"Have something to say, Eclipsa?" Moon raised her voice. Eclipsa turned to see a softly scowling face. Based on River's expression it didn't seem like she was too keen on stepping down and returning to her own village.

Eclipsa stared down Moon. Did she ever have something to say. But midway through arranging the words in her head, her husband bellowed and made her jump.

"My wife is the rightful queen." Oh...oh dear. She felt her eyes widen and lips pull back into a tight frown. His declaration came as he increased in his size, with Eclipsa feeling powerless to stop it.

Globgor hunched over. He stayed on his hands and knees, giving Moon an up close and personal look of his teeth and taking on more of the appearance of a barn than an imposing titan. "And if you so much as think of hurting my family again, I will crush you into dust." One of his massive fingers jabbed Moon in the chest.

Eclipsa swallowed. Hard. It was her turn to cover her daughter's ears, late as it was. In fact it seemed like Meteora enjoyed seeing daddy threatening people.

Moon stumbled a half step back, but stood her ground. An arm crossed over her chest as she glared at the monster before her. That's all she thought of him, Eclipsa knew. Just another monster.

Their eyes met. Eclipsa's expression hadn't changed; it felt frozen on her face. She did at least manage to shrug her shoulders. While not what she planned, it worked. Moon was smart enough to know that there was no chance of winning a fight without magic. Her eyes went back to Globgor with murderous intent.

Then she ran. Turned heel and sprinted towards Earth without so much as a backwards glance. River was left standing alone and in utter shock. He ran off, too, as soon as he wrapped his head around what happened.

Globgor blinked. "Well there you go!" he eventually said. He swept his hands together as he went back to normal size, turning. "You have your- oh no. Darling? Are you alright?"

"Ehm…" Her words caught in her throat. Eclipsa didn't know how, or when, but this moment would come back to haunt her. Moon never gave up that easily.

"Yes!" Not even she was convinced by that. "I think I'll be fine. Although I did just threaten to kill the most popular queen of Mewni, the same one who built her own city out of nothing but her supporters willing to fight for her, and in the heat of the moment I didn't think to try to arrest her for treason. Did- did I miss anything?" An involuntary laugh escaped her. Something inside her hoped that the verbal recap would make a solution appear out of thin air.

Globgor rubbed the back of his neck, lowering his gaze. "I'm sorry, I-"

"No!" she said suddenly. "No no no no, you did wonderfully, my love. I did expect it would come to that eventually, but ah, not as a first resort." Her eyes also went to the ground. She knew she had to do something, but right now she was having trouble keeping a thought in place for more than a few seconds.

"Do you want some chocolate?" Her eyes locked onto him like a savage animal. Yes, she wanted chocolate. Right now the only thing she wanted in this entire waking world was to have some chocolate. She closely tracked his hand as it reached into a pocket on the outside of his briefs. "Ta-da!" He triumphantly pulled out a handful of individually wrapped pieces and held them out for her.

The uneven ground caused Eclipsa to stumble in her haste to get to him. "I love you so much right now."

She swiped the candies from his open palm, giving him Meteora in exchange. "Anything for my darkest star." Her fingers worked furiously on the outer foil. Who were they trying to limit with these wrappers? They should leave them off and fill a massive bag full of tiny chocolates so she could eat them like popcorn.

With the first of three freed from its wrapping, she shoved it into her mouth with shaking hands. The other two were quick to follow. She let all three sit on her tongue, melting them into a delicious syrup that smoothly coated her mouth. Eclipsa took a calming breath through her nose; she didn't want to ruin the lingering taste. Okay, now, here they were. No going back. They could deal with Moon as soon as they could, and they couldn't now.

Eclipsa swallowed. Her eyes refocused as she came down from her chocolate high. "Thank you, dearest." The sun was returning, further helping her sight. Monster temple was still visible in the distance. This new world had its own mountains, it seemed, very far away through a thick grey haze. Luckily the jagged cliffs of her home were much closer. About as close as they were before, in fact.

Thinking about it only made her realize how much there was to do. Everything up to and including the geography was different now. She was even second guessing the location of her own home - the mewmans had been reduced to visitors in their own country.

"What now?" Globgor's voice pulled her perception inwards again. Meteora had fallen asleep, the sweet thing. After such a long day she deserved the rest.

Eclipsa stood straighter. No rest for queens. "Now? We go home. There won't be any leading of our people from here." A smile clawed at her lips. It really seemed like they had gone through this situation once before. She continued, hopefully, "Can we do the shoulder thing?"

Massive footsteps quickly approached the border of New Monstertown. Coming back here marked Eclipsa's second time seeing the carnage those warriors brought to her growing city, and the first time seeing how her people reacted to the aftermath. Somehow, despite how much the world changed, the one thing she wanted gone was still there - the long and still faintly glowing trench left behind by her spell.

Mewmans and monsters alike turned their heads after seeing their queen return. She was still their queen, after all. As far as she knew nobody outside the royal family were aware of her surrender. Other than Mina. That's right, Mina had run off with Manfred. Just add them to the growing mental checklist of things to deal with.

In front of her were more immediate problems. Homes were gone, roads were destroyed, and her castle was once again a crumbling ruin. Almost like they were all the way back at square one. The only silver lining she could see was that everyone was still here. Beaten and bruised, yes, but still flocking in the streets with her arrival.

Eclipsa looked at her husband. As difficult as it was to see his face from here, she could feel his shoulders slump and hear his long sigh. "Globby?" She put a hand on his cheek. It must have felt like a mosquito landing on him, but he still leaned his head towards her touch. "It'll be fine, I promise." She gestured down at the crowd. "You see that? They want us to lead them."

"I know, but I still feel guilty." He shrank himself as he spoke, causing his voice to shift.

"Oh hush, you. Without you distracting that warrior, people would have died. That's more important than some houses and roads, hm?" She leaned over and kissed his temple before he got too tiny. "Here is fine."

He stopped. Eclipsa daintily stepped onto his open hand, keeping her feet close together in order to fit. As they had done before. From up here she could properly address her people.

"Hello everyone," she began cheerfully, and with a wave to boot. She wasn't worried about waking Meteora, that girl slept through everything. "Well, as you know, there have been some changes. First of all, magic is gone." Eclipsa opened and closed her empty wand hand. That seemed to be enough to prove it, as murmurs broke out among the crowd.

"But not to worry! Without magic, those warriors will never return. The largest threat we've ever faced is no more." She paused purely for effect. Silence. "Yes, well, as soon as we rebuild, everything will be fine. Until then, anyone who had their home destroyed is more than welcome to stay in the castle."

She turned back to Globgor. He quickly continued on towards the castle before anyone could ask questions. Not exactly the rousing speech she had in mind, but it didn't seem to matter. Everyone seemed to be in just as weird of a mood as she was in after all that had happened.

Everyone except one, apparently. As they approached the castle they saw a familiar face. Tom was descending the stairs of the temple, whistling a tune with his hands in his pockets. "Tom?" Eclipsa called out.

Globgor began shrinking back to normal upon reaching the base of the mountain. Eclipsa didn't need to look as she stepped onto the ground again. She did look, however, when he took Meteora from her arms. "I will put her to bed and then check the castle. Shout if you need me."

Eclipsa hugged his arm before he went up. He smiled at Tom as they passed, who waved back.

"Hey Eclipsa," he said casually. He stopped in front of her two stairs up. "Have you seen Star? All the mirrors are busted, I can't call her."

"What?" Eclipsa pulled out her own mirror. He was right, it wouldn't turn on. At least it still worked as a mirror, and by the Stump, did she ever look terrible. The bags under her eyes alone were enough to make her snap it shut before she could get a look at anything else.

Tom shrugged. "Told ya."

Wonderful, just more and more to complicate things further. Leading the city would be hard enough, the whole kingdom was another problem entirely without any mirrors. Eclipsa rubbed her face. "Star went with Marco. I don't know where, but they're fine."

"Oh. Yeah, makes sense." He stared down at her, giving her a chance to speak up. Not long enough of a chance. "Well, good luck." His whistle returned as he kept walking.

"No no no, wait!" She grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around. Now she was the one to stare down at him. "Can you still fly?" Tom blinked, making her question which of his eyes she should be looking at.

"Umm, maybe? Ponyhead could, so." His eyes briefly shifted down to where her hands had been placed on him. Eclipsa took the hint and moved away so Tom could take a few steps back.

He didn't go down the stairs. Instead, he stayed at the same height as he walked on air away from her. Bright orange flames erupted from his heels after the first step to keep him aloft. "Look at that, guess I can."

"Oh good." Eclipsa reached out and touched his arm before he could get too far away. "Could you perhaps deliver a message to the other kingdoms for me?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, alright. Not really doing anything else."

"Thank you so much. Please tell them that there will be an urgent meeting today at sundown." Eclipsa eagerly smiled at him.

"You got it." He continued walking backwards, giving her a quick two finger salute in a joint acknowledgement and wave goodbye. Then he turned and launched into the sky.

Her eyes tracked him as he turned into nothing more than an orange streak in the distance. She was so grateful to have Star. Even her friends were helping to run the kingdom.

Eclipsa turned back around towards the temple, feeling so small in front of all those stairs. Going up them would mean having to face all her advisors and knights again, something she wasn't looking forward to after being forced to abandon them. Her only hope was that they would be as understanding as Globby.

Difficult as it was to start moving again, she simply couldn't stay out here all day. The first step was by far the hardest to take. After that, her body went through the motions as if on autopilot. She had to make a conscious effort to move slowly and prolong the peaceful walk for as long as possible.

Eventually her steps carried her all the way up. She pulled herself onto the terrace, only to find that her poor garden was in worse shape than her temple. Eclipsa spun in place. Not a single rose bush or merigold remained. "Your majesty." She looked up from the flowers.

"Oh, Archibald." Her gargoyle servant was hovering just by the door with a towel draped over his forearm. "I'm glad to see you safe. Is everyone else all right?"

"Yes my queen, everyone but one." His looked away. "We had a single, ehm, casualty. Mr. Quirky succumbed just before the temple was raided."

Eclipsa tensed. Only one death was certainly better than expected, but still one more than she had hoped. "See that he's buried with full honors."

"There's no body, your majesty." Of course, that entry in the book. She remembered now. How could her mother create something so horrible? No, none of this was her mother's fault. It was Moon's fault. Star was right, she was a traitor and a murderer.

"Right." Eclipsa walked up to the front door of the temple and forcefully pushed it open, not caring how hard it slammed against the wall. Her loud entrance turned the heads of everyone in the room. All of her knights were already here, standing around the table which lay split cleanly in two by one of the Solarian's swords. Similar gashes cut into the ceiling and walls let some light in from the outside.

She approached. Not the round table, but the vending machine in the corner. "I'm glad you're all here," she said as she walked. "First order of business. If any of you see Moon, capture her. Alive, please." Her hand balled into a fist and pounded on the machine's panel as she turned.

The candy fell behind her. She didn't need to look in order to stoop down and grab it from the chute, nor to open the wrapping and break a hunk free with her teeth. Wait, not all of her knights were here. There were only two. Sirs Dashing and Cuddles. "Where is everyone?"

Sir Cuddles timidly raised a hand. "Home, my queen. Many of us thought that you, well, died, so they went to their families."

Of course they did. She hadn't even considered what her exit would have looked like from an outside perspective. For a moment even she thought that she would be killed. No matter, two knights would be plenty. Just quite significantly more difficult without Star or Janna. Even Moon offered up a plan now and then. "Omfh, fhouldn't we be ebfaca'ating?" she asked through a mouthful.

"Um, you mean evacuating?" Eclipsa nodded. "Ah. After the warriors were stopped, nobody saw a point in leaving."

She swallowed. "Mhm. Good." It sounded like a fine idea at the time, she'd admit, but any plan of Moon's was not to be trusted. Her knights stared, and she stared back, freezing moments away from another bite.

"So, we have a lot to do. What should we address first?" Eclipsa asked the room. Her eyes scanned for Star before her memory caught up with her again.

"We could rebuild?" one of her knights answered. She didn't catch who said it, but she was glad that they did.

"Yes! Let's start rebuilding." She bit another square off the chocolate bar. The sneaky devils put it on the label that one square was a serving, just to make it look less unhealthy. But she knew. All attempts to ration herself before had failed regardless of what the label said.

Eclipsa swallowed. "Well, go rebuild! Organize the people, get supplies." The others scrambled around her as she finished off the rest of her candy. And then there was one. Monster temple was no longer buzzing with activity from servants or friendly visitors, leaving her alone in silence with her thoughts.

She still didn't know what she did to deserve any of this. Was there a reason at all? Moon never so much as hinted at wanting to kill her and usurp the throne. Somehow all of that 'I don't trust her' business turned into a literal army of superweapons that started killing citizens.

It had to have been for power. What else could it be? If Moon thought that all of this would end up being good for the kingdom, she needed a few history lessons.

Good of the kingdom. If anyone knew about the good of the kingdom, it was Eclipsa herself. She almost killed her own daughter to save Mewni, only to have it nearly destroyed months later. For all she knew it still may well happen. Maybe another threat greater than legions of Solarians was waiting just beyond the borders of Mewni's final resting place.

"My queen." Archibald again. Eclipsa turned her head towards him, wiping chocolate from her lips. "There are visitors for you. They claim to have been sent by Star."

"Send them in."


End file.
